Elizabeth Pederson
Professor Petersilia: California Prison Reform
1
Paper Abstract
This paper discusses the effect female offenders have on the California criminal justice system, relevant
policy considerations, and the need to address female offenders’ specific and multiple needs in order to
facilitate successful crime reduction policy. Some California programs are evaluated, and a course of
action for California policymakers is outlined that would best address the special needs of female
offenders.
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“Smart crime policies incorporate the best strategies and programs to accomplish public goals, in this
case reducing violence, crime and drug abuse. In many instances, the greatest benefits accrue when those
strategies target people who are at the greatest risk of recurring harm – to themselves, their families and
their communities. The 10,000 women in California’s prisons and the 12,000 women on parole are on the
top of this list. Most of these women have been both victim and offender, and most of them have children.
They represent some of the greatest challenges for the state’s vast, noble and underperforming network of
health, education, human service and criminal justice programs. While dollars are allocated to these
programs each year, the real costs are tolled over generations.”1
Providing Services to Female Offenders: Policy Perspectives on Sentencing and Parole
by
Elizabeth Pederson
Introduction
As California struggles with the effects of three-strikes law, tougher penalties for drug
crimes, and determinate sentencing, the disproportionate impact of these measures on women has
become painfully clear. A mere quarter century ago, women were barely a shadow in the
criminal justice system: they made up less than five percent of all prisoners, and around two-
thirds of women who appeared in federal court were given probation.2 Now